Three crimes that occurred between Feb. 21 and March 4, when an armed gunman entered the local Rite Aid Pharmacy demanding prescription drugs, have made for a series of unfortunate events in the little city still known to many of its residents as “East Town.”

Ellijay’s city clerk recently became one of only 10,300 officials to earn the title of certified municipal clerk through an international institute. Sharon Spivey Nelson said she’d been working since 2010 to complete the certification requirements through classes at the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government.

When it comes to the practice of adding fluoride to the water supply, Ellijay resident Daniel Stockin believes “the handwriting is literally on the wall. Fluoridation is going to collapse,” he went on to predict. “The crowd that’s been supporting it is starting to turn on each other ... I’m not interested in blame or credit, I just want it to stop.”

The
work of seven local and regional authors will be on display at a free
event Saturday, March 14, 1 to 4 p.m., at downtown Ellijay nonprofit
Gilmer Arts. Presented as a “unique book fair,” the first installment of Meet the
Authors will feature guests reading from their works, signing copies of
their books and chatting with those who attend.

The Ellijay Police Department is pleased to announce the addition of three police officers. The pre-employment selection process was extensive and included a background investigation, psychological examination, polygraph examination and a written exercise. The final recommendation for hire was made by a hiring board following their review of the officers’ files, written exercises and oral interviews.

A concept of criminal justice that attempts to keep substance abuse offenders out of incarceration that has been tried elsewhere is being implemented successfully in Gilmer County. Administered by the Appalachian Judicial Circuit — comprised of Fannin, Gilmer and Pickens counties — Drug Court and Family Drug Court have been in existence here since 2002.

Operation Sandbox is extending its efforts to assist American soldiers. Founded in November 2004, the Georgia-based nonprofit is dedicated to supporting members of the Armed Forces by sending care packages to those serving overseas. Now the organization is increasing its mission to encompass wounded warriors as well.

Betty Gilreath cried tears of surprise and happiness when she was named the 2015 Ms. Gilmer Nursing Home last Thursday evening. “I feel great about it,” she said after being crowned by last year’s queen, Winnie Scigliano, at the conclusion of the facility’s 38th annual pageant.

Ben
Kiker stated he was “pretty shocked” when he was introduced as the 2014
Citizen of the Year (COTY) during the Gilmer Chamber of Commerce’s 36th
annual gala Saturday, Jan. 31. “I never dreamed of anything like this,” he added, describing how other
COTY recipients are people he has looked up to over the years. “Looking
at that list of renowned people, I certainly didn’t see any karate
instructors on there.”

One of the hardest lessons facing college students is that higher education is not cheap. In addition to rising tuition and fees, the steep price of textbooks is a common financial hurdle associated with pursuing a degree.

Emily Nieves has earned the honor of being named Gilmer High School’s 2015 STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Recognition) Student, school officials announced Tuesday, Jan. 27. To receive the designation, high school seniors must have the highest score for their school on the three part SAT for one test date, as well as be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students in regards to grade point average for their graduating class.

The Gilmer County Assessors Office is now accepting the following: taxpayer’s returns of real property, business personal property returns, Homestead Exemption applications and conservation use program applications. The deadline for filing is April 1, 2015.

North Georgia RESA employee Tanna Leigh Barnes gets an up-close look at the Congressional Medal of Honor belonging to Ret. Army Lt. Col. Charles Hagemeister, left. Hagemeister, who received the medal in 1968 for heroic actions during a battle in Vietnam’s Binh Dinh Province, was at the educational resource facility Jan. 14 to introduce a new classroom character-building program assembled by the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation.